The beauty of acid etched glass

I am looking to buy a good thermos for tea/ coffee. I see thermos in both glass interior or stainless steel interior. Can someone tell me which is better an why? Does the Stainless Steel rust after long use?

Glass holds the heat much better. I pack a hot lunch for my daughters lunchbox, and although there is a bigger risk of breakage, the glass is so much better for holding in the heat. The stainless is more durable, but allows the food to cool much quicker. I am not sure about a liquid, such as coffee, but I would think it would be the same

Connieon November 30th, -0001

I prefer the steel thermos flasks. I have several and they can keep ice cubes overnight as I have used them on trips to the beach.

Recently during a stay in hospital my partner brought me flasks of coffee and these stayed hot during the day.

I am now nursing a broken leg and have to put my coffee in the flask and hop into the lounge with it. It has been a godsend and it bangs against my sticks as I hop and there is no damage to it. The coffee stays very warm throughout the day.

The glass ones can be broken too easily if you dropped it that would be it finished.

SeeingStripeson November 30th, -0001

I will never have another glass one… drop it twice and interior broke… We now have the steel ones and love them. They can fall of scaffolding and survive to see another day.

We have had them for years with no rust. As long as you don’t let them set in chlorine they will be fine. We had the handle fall off one but that was it.

: )

pricklycharacteron November 30th, -0001

Once you break a glass thermos, you have to buy another one.

Stainless keeps your drink just as hot, but costs a lot.

I don’t like risking having shattered glass in my beverage, so I would go with stainless.

Jimon May 20th, 2010

I just spent 1/2 hour searching the web for a source of decent vacuum bottles and am disgusted. This generation’s inability to take care of anything has caused the demise of the superior glass vacuum bottle.

As an engineer, I can tell you that the heat loss (gain) thru the stainless version is on the average about 30 % greater than for a good glass unit.

This may or may not override the ability to abuse the stainless design. In my case I brew a pot of coffee at 6:30 am and the stainless stops melting the non-dairy creamer around 9:30 whereas the glass goes at around 11 am.

The excellent Thermos 44050 Thermal Carafe is no longer available. When I got a Krup post with SS carafe, I started transferring the hot coffee to the Thermos when available.

glassfanon October 27th, 2011

Most of the comments here talk about safety, cost (if have to replace), and keeping hot vs. cold. I want to talk about the different way that steel vs. glass affects taste. I personally think that glass preserves the original taste of food and drinks MUCH better than steel; this is particularly true for coffee. Coffee out of a metal thermos loses most of its flavor; not the case with glass. Yes, you have to be careful with glass, but I had a glass-lined thermos for three years before I broke it, which for me is a fine investment.

celia wilkinsonon December 16th, 2011

i have ms and am forever dropping my flask so if i can find some one who sells steel that would suit me fine

Frankon January 31st, 2012

I agree with glassfan and Jim. I am looking for a good glass thremos for my coffee during the day and they are hard to find. It is true that glass is much easier to break, but, at least for someone like me for whom taste is important, glass is essential. I roast my own coffee and fresh roasted coffee is so much better than what you can buy at the gorcery or most coffee shops (there are some local coffee shops that do have fresh locally roasted coffee), but put it in stainless steel and an hour later, you may as well go to McCafe! Of course, if you like McCafe, maybe stainless is the way to go.

Berendinaon September 11th, 2012

Glass for me as well. I cannot imagine drinking my tea from a stainless steel cup, so i do not want to keep it warm in a stainless steel thermos either. From a nice clean glass interior thermos, or glass teapot when home, into my tea glass, that’s how i love it.

Sherion January 23rd, 2013

Hey! I’m trying to find answers on the web but can’t seem to find what I’m looking for. I came across this forum of conversations and I figured I’d see if any of you can help me out.
I just got to work and my thermos fell out of my car and onto the ground. There’s a small possibility that the minimal amount of snow helped break its fall but it’s not for sure. Now I’m terrified to drink my hot chocolate. How do I know if my glass thermos is shattered? I poured some out and looked inside. It still looks like it’s in one piece but if it’s broken, would I be able to see it? Will I see shattered glass in my drink?

Please help! Thanks so much!

Jacksonon January 16th, 2015

I thought that this information was helpful 🙂

Share your comment

Name (required)

Mail (required)

Website

About Me

ALES LOMBERGAR is one of the few artisans in Europe who still practice the ancient art of glass acid etching which flourished in the late 19th century. Decorations are applied with resin resists by hand and then exposed to acid baths, with no machinery used. More information here.